


I Promise...

by newsies_of_corona



Series: Alchemy Brothers AU- A Series of Oneshots [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Tangled the series - Freeform, Villain Varian, best friends seven kingdoms au, hugo and varian are brothers, hugo's adopted, soft hugo, varian and the seven kingdoms - Freeform, varian has...issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26280232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newsies_of_corona/pseuds/newsies_of_corona
Summary: What would happen if Hugo was there for amber incident...?
Relationships: alchemy bros - Relationship
Series: Alchemy Brothers AU- A Series of Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918906
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	I Promise...

“I’m telling you, Hugo, it’s going to work, heh! No-no one else is doing anything about the rocks. I doubt that the _king_ even knows about them and they’ll reach the castle in a matter of months! Some-someone has to step up and fix the problem.”

Varian mixes together a bright green compound and sets it on the table. He goes over a few more calculations in his head and continues stirring while Hugo paces nervously in the back.

“Hairstripe, I know you want to fix this, but it might be too big for even you. Remember what dad said…”

Hugo trails off, knowing what Varian is going to say in response. They were both at the palace; they both knew what Quirin said.

Varian sighs and scratches Ruddiger’s head next to him as some kind of comfort.

“Dad…Dad _lied,_ Hugo. Clearly these rocks are more dangerous than we thought which is why he wants us to leave.”

He turns around to face his brother, a determined and unmoving glint in his eye.

“I know he told us to stay away, but I can tell I’m close to a solution!”

Hugo stops pacing to look at the rock Varian plans on testing. The spike had already caused one explosion, there’s no telling what could happen next. Especially in the hands of his brother.

“Varian-“

The younger alchemist quickly cuts him off, giving Hugo a sad, sorrowful look that was hard to say no to.

“Please trust me on this,” He pleads, sincerely.

Hugo tries to avoid his glance while running a hand stressfully through his hair.

“Come on, Hairstripe. Don’t do the look-“

Varian only amplifies his gaze, his eyes growing bigger and more pleading.

“Aghh, fine. I trust you,” Hugo gives in.

Varian smiles brightly at Hugo and continues mixing.

“Thank you. And believe me, I’m an expert at this!” The alchemist tells him cockily, while almost spilling the solution he’s mixing. He catches it just in time with a nervous smile. Hugo’s just making a big deal out of this. After all, alchemy can solve practically any problem, and these strange rocks shouldn’t be an exception. But for some reason, there’s sinking feeling gnawing at Varian’s stomach. He shakes it off quickly and continues with his work. Everything’s going to be okay, just like the princess said.

Hugo gives Varian an unstable smile, but he isn’t able to shake the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. The feeling only becomes worse as the minutes tick on, the room seeming to close in on him. He needs to get out of there.

“I’m, uh, gonna go outside and get some air. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, okay?”

Hugo looks at Varian firmly, practically begging him with his eyes to be careful. Varian only rolls his own until he sees how desperate Hugo looks. His expression shifts and he puts down the vial.

“Y-yeah…I promise, heh.”

The two boys smile at each other as Hugo leaves the room. The fresh air seems relaxing in comparison to the stuffy lab. Hugo feels a calming sense wash over him. Maybe he’s just catastrophizing. Just because most of his brother’s inventions tend to go out in a bang, he laughs to himself, “Literally,” Doesn’t mean this one will. He takes a deep breath, trying to reassure himself.

“Everything’s going to be okay. Varian promised…”

———————————————————————

Cold. That’s all Hugo feels as he stares blankly at the same wall of the same cell. It’s been exactly three months and two days since the catastrophe, and three months and _one_ day since he was thrown in jail for a crime he never even committed. The chilling feeling is almost numbing by now, after all, he’s been experiencing it since that very day.

“Everything is going to be okay…” he mumbles cynically under his breath. What a bunch of lies. He should have stopped Varian when he had the chance. He could have done something…but it’s too late now.

Hugo had stayed with Quirin that day while Varian went for help. _Hugo_ was the one who experienced the crushing reality of the situation as the amber slowly overtook their father. He had yelled at Varian when he returned, blamed him for what happened…but that was the wrong thing to do. Something changed in his little brother that day. Something dark and malicious that he couldn’t stop. The hopeful glint in the alchemist’s eye from only a few hours before had been replaced with one of pure anger and hatred. That was the last time he saw Varian. When the guards broke in early the next morning, Varian heard them and ran, but Hugo couldn’t get away. They ransacked the lab, figured Hugo was in on Varian’s “plan,” and took him in.

And now here he is, only hearing through whispers and rumors about what Varian was doing. It was hard not to hear. His brother had become _the_ topic of discussion between the inmates. Day after day, all they would talk about is:

“What’s that kid up to? Did you hear he attacked the princess?” And, “I heard he broke into the palace and stole the Sundrop flower! And get this, he drugged everyone with cookies!”

But the créme de la créme of all of this was the most recent rumor:

“The kid’s back at it again! He just attacked the entire kingdom, and kidnapped the queen!”

Hugo especially hopes this last one isn’t true, but judging from the last time he saw Varian…he couldn’t say in good conscience that it isn’t possible.

The night is starting to turn into a dawn as Hugo’s head begins to droop. His eyes gradually close when he hears a loud _SLAM!_ The noise definitely comes from outside, and the only thing it could have been is the door of the paddy wagon.

All of the inmates, except for Hugo, move to the front of their cells; they know that that sound means a new prisoner is arriving. Immediately the whispers start back up again.

“Do you think it’s the kid?” A raspy voice asks?

“Nah he’s too smart to get caught. I bet it’s just Dwayne again,” a different prisoner responds.

Another voice echoes from the back of the blond’s cell; Hugo’s felonious cellmate Andrew of Saporia.

“If it _is_ the kid, maybe we’ll have a shot of breaking out of here,” Andrew remarks with a sly smile starting to form on his face.

Hugo reluctantly gets up with a sigh and heads to the front of his cell, keeping his distance from Andrew. If the new inmate _is_ Varian, he might as well see for himself, even though there had been five false alarms already.

The door to the chamber of cells opens with a creak, as two guards usher in the new prisoner. The row of cells is dead silent before a slow clap can be heard from one of the inmates.

“Really?” Hugo remarks under his breath. It’s typical for certain prisoners to do this when a new one came in. Depending on how many crimes someone committed, they get more claps. It’s a way for the prisoners to pass the time; to have something to be “excited” about, but Hugo just thinks it’s ridiculous.

Soon the sound of clapping is amplified as the other prisoners join in until practically everyone was clapping, even Andrew. This is much more out of the ordinary. The only person who could get _that_ much applause is-

“Way to go kid! You really gave it to ‘em!” One of the inmates shouts as Varian is ushered down the corridor. He glares fiercely at the floor, Ruddiger still curled around his shoulders. He ignores all of the clapping and remarks as the guard opens his cell. He’s about to walk in when the guard moves to take away Ruddiger. The raccoon looks sadly up at the alchemist and scurries away. He might be able to find Varian later. Varian bites down hard on his lip to keep himself from crying and takes a step into the cell. The doors slams shut behind him as the jeering continues.

The guard bangs the stick of his halberd on the floor, silencing the prisoners and walks out of the jail with a sympathetic look at the kid. The prisoners mumble something about “unfair Corona laws” and return to the back of their cells.

Varian leans his head on the bars of the jail cell defeatedly when something catches his eye. He glances up, and sure enough, there’s a boy with a blond shock of hair staring back at him from across the hall.

“ _Hugo?_ What-what are you doing here?”

Varian’s voice is low and broken; nothing at all like the lively tone he once had.

Hugo squints at the bloodshot blue eyes that seem to stare straight into him. He hardly recognizes the alchemist. His skin is deathly pale from lack of sunlight, and his figure is much slimmer than before. He probably hasn’t eaten in days.

“I was taken in three months ago, Varian. Remember?”

Had it really been three months? Time seemed to blur to Varian when he worked on his father’s release. Days turned into nights which turned into new days. He worked for the whole of it. Sleep was a word he hadn’t thought of in weeks.

“Oh…right-right…”

Hugo doesn’t want to be angry at Varian, but he has every reason to be. His brother, his _best friend_ just made himself public enemy number one in Corona and dragged Hugo down alongside him. He was out of control.

“And what about you? What are _you_ doing here, Varian?” Hugo asks, more cynically than intended.

Varian looks away shamefully before deepening his glare. Of _course_ Hugo wouldn’t be on his side. What else is new?

Hugo doesn’t wait for Varian’s response, and hits him again with a follow up.

“Tell me those rumors aren’t true,” Hugo demands, looking at Varian with those same pleading eyes.

Varian thought he could be real with Hugo, but it turns out he was just like everyone else. A cunning smirk rests comfortably on his face as he turns to Hugo again.

“Ah…so you’ve heard, heh.”

Hugo backs up slightly. He’s never seen Varian like this before…and he _hates_ it.

“So it’s true then. You did _all_ of it.”

Hugo’s tone merges from anger to disappointment, and this is something that the new prisoner can’t take. Varian’s face falls again and he looks down to the side, not wanting to face Hugo.

“Listen…if-if you were in my postition-“

“I _was_ in your position, Varian! You _never_ had to take things this far!”

Hugo raises his voice, the sound echoing off the walls of the chamber.

Varian matches his in volume, trying to drown out the accusations that he knows are true.

“They deserved _every_ bit of what I did!”

He lowers his voice again, enclosing his fists around the bars of the cell and gripping them tightly.

_“I’m not sorry.”_

Hugo can’t believe his ears. Varian has done some pretty bad things in his life, on accident of course, but he had always apologized and admitted his faults. This was like talking to a completely different person.

“You’re _not_ sorry? Varian, you hurt innocent people-“

That is also the wrong thing to say. It seems to pique Varian even more and he rattles the bars of the cell violently.

“ _Innocent?_ Oh, _that’s_ a laugh, heh. No-no one was truly innocent. They _all_ turned their backs on me and-and on dad, and that’s something I _won’t_ forgive,” Varian states firmly. This triggers another round of clapping and some shouting from the prisoners, which Varian quickly cuts off with a loud, _“QUIET!”_

Hugo blinks in surprise, extremely startled by the outburst, but Varian isn’t finished.

“Especially the _princess._ She promised that she would help me…She-she could physically _control_ the rocks and she did nothing!”

Tears start running down Varian’s face as he rests his head on the bars of the cell again.

“Because of _her_ broken promise I’m stuck here left to rot in this jail,” he adds, rattling the door of the cell again.

Hugo narrows his eyes. Varian was _really_ playing the victim?

“You’re unbelievable, Hairstripe. Who are _you_ to talk about broken promises? When this whole thing started you promised _me_ you wouldn’t do anything stupid-“

He gestures around them sarcastically.

“Well _this_ seems pretty stupid to me!”

Varian opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out. Hugo’s right; he’s being hypocritical. But he’s not about to let Hugo in on that fact. If he isn’t with Varian, he’s against him.

Hugo glances at the floor of the cell, trying to recollect his thoughts and have an actual conversation with Varian. Their last encounter had also ended in a fight; he doesn’t want that to become a normal occurrence for them.

“Var, I lost dad too. You aren’t going through this alone…”

He gets riled up again, still practically outraged at Varian’s behavior.

“Yet you keep making it all about _you!_ ”

Varian isn’t slow to fire back. Unlike Hugo, he’s open for a fight. That’s all he’s been doing for the past months anyway.

“You didn’t have to go for literal _months_ scrounging around for food and staying up for hours trying to find a solution. _Nothing_. _Worked._ ”

“No I didn’t know! You know why? Because I was in _jail!_ ” Hugo retorts, sarcastically.

“At least you didn’t have to see our _encased father_ everyday…” Varian argues under his breath.

Hugo sucks in a sharp breath. Is he being too hard on Varian? He didn’t do what he did for no reason after all. That didn’t make it justfiable, but as his brother he needs to be there for Varian. Maybe it’s a good thing that they ended up in jail together. He could help bring his little brother back.

Hugo sighs deeply and tries his best to console Varian.

“Look, Hairstripe, I’m sorry about what happened. Believe me, I want him back as much as you do.”

Unfortunately, he can’t resist the older brother urge to reprimand him.

“But you don’t need to take it out on the whole kingdom-“

 _“Oh don’t I?”_ Varian snaps.

“Hugo, you of all people should know what the kingdom has done to us. What-what they’ve done to our family is inexcusable. Believe me, if…if I wasn’t stuck in this cell, Corona would merely be a _shadow_ of what it used to be,” he says darkly, staring Hugo right in the face.

Andrew perks up at this last statement and sits up on his bed. This kid might be of some use after all.

Hugo can tell Varian is serious, but he’s heard this kind of thing so much it sounds like a broken record by now. Almost _everyone_ here seems to have some kind of problem with Corona. He’s heard _all_ of the threats.

“Hate to break it to you, Hairstripe, but you missed the memo. ‘Swearing Revenge On The Kingdom Night’ was _last_ week,” Hugo tells him sarcastically, partially trying to lighten the mood.

“Oh, _shut up._ ” Varian threatens.

This is what takes Hugo back. He’s used to that response from Varian at his jokes…but the boy’s tone was so brutal now opposed to the playful tone he used before.

Hugo gingerly addresses Varian again after a while, his voice taking on a softer tone.

“What _happened_ to you, Hairstripe? The Varian I know would never-“

The alchemist shakes his head, not wanting to hear any more of what Hugo has to say.

“Well maybe I’m not _him_ anymore okay? I’m _tired_ of being ignored, no, this time, _this time_ they’re _all_ going to hear what I have to say!” Varian shouts, gaining some cheers from the prisoners.

He lowers his voice and clenches his fists tightly.

“And as soon as I can I’m busting out of here. I’m getting the _justice_ that I came for.”

Hugo _really_ doesn’t like the sound of this. Sure, the thought of breaking out has crossed his mind multiple times. He’s fully capable of doing it, but that would also free Andrew who had a _huge_ vendetta against Corona. He wouldn’t shut up about it, in fact. Freeing Andrew would be a monumental mistake, and one that Hugo wouldn’t want to bring upon the kingdom, even if he himself was wrongfully accused.

“I can’t let you do that, Var. I can’t let you ruin your life,” Hugo states, hoping that a calm approach might get through to Varian. Unfortunately it does not.

 _“It’s already ruined, Hugo!”_ He cuts him off, hysterically. “What-what’s one more thing on my record?”

Andrew grows tired of hearing the boys argue, and decides to put in a word for himself. The alchemist can be a very powerful ally if the situation is handled the right way.

“I’m sorry but I couldn’t help but overhear, You _know_ the famous ‘juvenile delinquent,’ Hugo?”

Varian cuts in rudely.

“Oh, is _that_ what they’re calling me now? _Fantastic._ I’ll just add it to my list of nicknames…”

Hugo rolls his eyes and turns back to Andrew.

“He’s my brother,” he states, somewhat shamefully.

Andrew cocks his head in confusion.

“Really? You don’t look anything alike-“

“ _Adopted_ brother,” Varian adds, practically scowling at Hugo. He turns his gaze to Andrew, still glaring. “And who are you?”

“Don’t ask, Hairstripe-“ Hugo says under his breath. He really isn’t in need of another speech about how “great” Saporia is.

“Just your brother’s cellmate, is all,” Andrew says modestly.

Hugo picks up on this; it’s very strange for Andrew to be anything but showy. What’s his game…?

“I’m Andrew. But I don’t think I’ve had the honor of knowing _your_ name,” Andrew says, gesturing to the alchemist.

“Varian,” the brothers state in unison.

“It’s not like I haven’t said it _multiple_ times already,” Hugo adds, satirically. This man is either an idiot…or up to something. It’s most likely both.

Andrew chuckles darkly.

“Well _Varian,_ you have passion. I admire that. And I agree, Corona does deserve a little _justice_ as you put it.”

Oh, _that’s_ his game. Hugo’s eyes dart nervously back and forth as he tries to think of something to say. Varian and Andrew working together, considering both of their past records, would be catastrophic.

“Hair-Hairstripe, just ignore him, heh,” Hugo tells him nervously. “He only flatters you so you’ll give him your food.”

He smiles impudently at Andrew.

“I know from experience.”

Andrew rolls his eyes at the comment, but keeps on with the charade.

“ _Hairstripe,_ I’m not the one you should be ignoring. You mentioned a break out? You’re in luck! I’ve been planning that very thing,” Andrew tells Varian, slyly.

Hugo glares at Andrew. How _dare_ this good for nothing moron use _his_ nickname for Varian. But a breakout? This isn’t looking good.

Hugo’s thoughts are cut off when Varian finally replies.

“Really?”

The boy looks to Andrew and then back at Hugo. Everything on his brother’s face is screaming _“DON’T DO IT!”_ But Varian’s out for payback now. Hugo doesn’t support his ideas, and practically blamed him for everything, so he might as well go along with Andrew’s plan just to spite his brother. Plus he’d be getting out of jail. It’s a win-win!

“When do we start?” Varian asks ominously, looking directly at Hugo whose face immediately drops.

“Ha! That’s more like it, kid!” Andrew exclaims with a big obnoxious smile on his face. Hugo has half a mind to slap it right off…but he could do something better. If Andrew is planning on breaking out anyway, there isn’t much Hugo could do to “protect the kingdom.” But he can at least soften the blow.

“There’s one _small_ condition that you both overlooked,” he says, glancing between Andrew and Varian.

“What is it now, Hugo?” Varian asks, getting tired of his brother meddling in his plans.

“Me, of course! I could tell the guards about your plan right away! Unless…”

“Unless what?” Andrew asks, just as irritated.

“Unless you let me in on it! I could get us out of here in twenty seconds flat-”

Varian scoffs.

“Heh! _No you can’t._ You don’t even have any tools!”

Hugo touches the rim of his glasses.

“Don’t you _see_?” Hugo chuckles. “Glasses can come in handy, Hairstripe! The side pieces work as a perfect lock picking tool. Trust me, I’ve tried it before.”

“But you-you’ll just sell us out!” Varian accuses. There’s no way he’s letting Hugo in on this.

“Not if you let me in! I see what you mean, Var. About this whole ‘revenge’ thing.” Hugo tells him cautiously. “I mean I was put in prison unfairly for something _you_ did! It does make a guy feel ‘break-out-of-jail-ish!’”

Varian isn’t falling for it. Hugo changed his mind much too fast.

“But you were just- _GAH!_ ”

“ _Enough._ ” Andrew cuts in tiredly. “Listen, Hugo, if you can pick the lock you can join us. But like the kid said, if you sell us out, you’ll pay for it. Got it?”

Hugo gulps but tries to seem confident.

“Yep! That won’t be a problem at all!”

Varian facepalms and sighs frustratingly. This is going to be harder than he thought.

Andrew nods curtly and returns back to his bed. When he’s out of earshot Hugo leans as far as he can out of the bars of the cell.

“I’m bringing you back, Hairstripe,” he tells him sincerely. _“I promise.”_

Varian sits on his own bed, rolling his eyes with a scoff.

“Heh. I’d like to see you _try._ ”


End file.
